The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-01-22
SALE NOTES at Hapeman & Graham's.


Ottawa Against the World.
Every city is infested with class Of ever
lasting growlers,-who maintain that ''noth-
ing good can come out OF Nazareth, "--chronic
grumblers who were born in the wrong age,
the worst year, the most unlucky day of the
week and the darkest hour of the twenty four
horoscope of their nativity would show
combination of the most malignant Stars in
the universe and the most direful cOncatina-
tions of neurological circumstances known
to heathendom, cOnspired to give these hypo-
critical GROWERS "a send off," in the wrong
direction. They know mo luck" but bad
luck. Their hopes are sure to end in the
direst slough of dependency They denounce
themselves, their neighbors and the town they
live in. The air they breathe is miasmatic,
their food is tainted, and everything with
them is the superlative of badness. Ottawa
has some Of these birds, called "boobees,"
and their cry, or whine or wailing, is heard at
all hours and in all places, and now and then
gets crystalized into words in one or the other
Of their small newspapers. The chief howl
OF these unfortunate creatures, of late, has
been about the lately new" court house and
the cost thereof and the heating apparatus
and the sacred laws Of economy violated
therein, and all other cities within a radius Of
hundred miles are cited rs pinks Of perfee.
ton, in comparison with Ottawa's toadstool
OF ugliness. Ottawa, as they view it, has
nothing-no business, "no go" generally,
while the activity Of some,-an other town,
is actually thrilling. The court house at
Ottawa structure, and cost more in proper
ton to the size, and three times over in pro.
portion to its room. 1t has alrcad, been dis.
covered to be too small. The county clerks
Office is a mere "cubby. hole" 1t has no
vaults; all Its valuable records ore upon shelv-
ing where the accumulated dust of years past
and those to come will eventually entomb
them. The halls are narrow, the stairs wind.
ing and narrow, so wide only are the halls
that In case of a panic in the court room or
on the upper floors, the surest way Of escap
ing alive would be to jump down. The steam
is in the basement and heats direct, and in
cold weather a park Of artillery could not
more snap and crack and prey upon the nerves
with greater success, and stands Of steam
pipes are in the way in every room. The
building has no individual fire protection, and
is constantly exposed to the danger from the
steam boilers in the basement. The exterior
OF the Joliet court house is much finer than
ours. bu. the interior is eclpsed by that Of the
Ottawa building as much as daylight over.
powers darkness.
As to the street lighting, while Joliet claims
to be a city of % 900 inhabitants We saw but
four electric lights and they were far apart.
Springfield is not well lighted considering its
size, and even that not counted Ottawa beats
II greatly. In fact, Ottawa is the best lighted
city in the State, Elgin not excepted, and
Bloomington, while lighted by electricity
aloLg its business streets, leaves her resident
portion to utter darkness, and falls below
Ottawa In general illumination.
Springfield suffers for want of pure water.
The artesian well of Lynch, Gilbert and Hess
would be worth more to Springfield than the
state capital itself.
From our observations we are satisfied that
while many of the cities Of Illinois, outside OF
Chicago, may possess some single advantage
in greater degree than Ottawa, there is not
one that uuites so many nor in such generous
as our own handsome city, for
Ottawa Is handsome. Imagine even Chicago
built in this splendid valley, or springfeld's
level plain and sangamon's brook, flowing a
sluggish stream Of mud, sand and little
water.
There were $50 associations and individuals
represented at Springfield this week In a con
vention. The great question was how to work
their clays to he best advantage, and not one
Of them possesses the perfection Of pure clay
such as abounds in beds of thousands OF acres
around this city. We need not go away from
home to lind city endowed By nature with
every desirable advantage. Let Us improve
them.